Stall cock



March 5, 1957 c'. A. THOMAS 2,783,771

STALLl COCK Filed NOV. 12, 1952 e ,Ziyi

E; -f" fV; Eig A?) T A?) /j /3 United States Patent STALL COCK Chester A. Thomas, Lake Forest, Ill., -assignor to Babson Bros. Co., a corporation of Illinois Application November 12, 1952, Serial No; 319,812

4 Claims. (Cl. 137-238) This invention relates to a cock and more particularly to a stall cock for use in a pipelineof a milking system. One feature of this invention is that it .provides a cock which may be used with la pipe havingahole in. thewall thereof for controlling .the ilow ot` iluid through lthe hole. Another feature. of this invention is that it provides a cock which is readily removablefrom the pipeline.. with which it is. associated to facilitate disassembly of the system for washing. A further feature of this invention is. that it provides va cock-including an arcuate bodymem.- ber having a iiow opening therein, Ka connectornipple carried by the body member and communicatingfwith the iiow opening, a retaining member adapted to. engage a .portion of the wall ofthe pipe, clamping meansfresiliently securing thebody member and the retaining member about the pipe, and resilient sealing means .providing a sealbetween the body member and the wall of the.. pipe, the cock being adapted Ifor only limited relative circumferential movement withrespect to the pipe whereby the body member may be moved between a first position. in which the ow openingthereinY cornmunicates with -the hole in the pipe and'a second position in which the-hole is closed, to control iiow of iluid therethrough. Yet a further featurefofthis invention is that it provides a guard member adapted to cover the end of the connector nipple at least when the cockis in closed position to keep the nipple free of insects, difrtk andv the like. i

Further features `and advantages'of thisinvention will be readily apparent from the following,specification'and the drawings, in which;

Figure 1 is an elevational view oa row of stalls with a pipeline and aplurality of stall cocks thereabove;

Figure 2 is a view'partly in side elevation and partly in section of a stall cock embodying my'invention, showing the stall cock in closed position;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure.2,`showing the stall cock in .open position; and

Figure 4 is atop'planwiew of thefstallcock, looking down on Figure 3, withportions brokenawayf Milk installations in a dairy barn wherein .'each"co w is milked in 'her own stall, as distinguishedfrom' adairy barn having milking parlors of` the typeA disclosed 'in Babson et al. PatentV Re. 22,368, generally provide vacuum for operating the milking apparatus, includingthe pulsator, through a pipelinelocated above andfiatlthe rear of the row of stalls. Such a pipelineispart of` a vacuum system which includes a motor driven pump and a vacuum tank; connection to the milking `apparatus-"lning made through a exible hose and a 'stall cockfor con+ nector'in the pipeline.

On large dairy farms, where hundredszor: evenias many as a thousand or more cows may beV milkedat' each milking, it is becoming increasingly common to use .a -.carry away milking systemrsuchas thatshown in. myfcopending-application Serial. No. 219,692, filedv April- 6,. 1951,

now Patent No. 2,706,965, issued April 26,1955.. In

a system of this kind a second pipeline, the carry-away 2,783,77i Patented Mar. 5, 1.957

milk-line, isinstalled alongthe row of stalls, as adjacent thezrst-ortoperating vacuum line. The carry-away milk lineis., connected to a source of vacuum, as i-s also the vacuumlinev for operating the pulsator and inations, a shut-off valve or stall cock generally is provided in the carry-awayY line at` each stall although in somev cases there may. beT one for every` other stall or possibly every third stall.VY "A.- flexible hose connects the milk discharge port ofpzthem'ilk withdrawing apparatus to the carry-away line through the vstall cock. TheV milk passes from the milk withdrawing. apparatus through a ilexible hose into' the carry-away milk line andY flows through this' line under the inuence of the vacuum applied to =the line, and in somey casesthe:additional force of gravity or a pump; toa-i. cooler, pasteurizer, storage receptacle or the like.

Inlthemore conventional milking systems used in a b`arn,the milk. from each cow is collected-in a separate recep tacle,..an d the receptacles are manually' moved to the desired location. The carry-'away systemy materially reduces...the labor necessary in the milking operation.

Themilk. codes in many localities require that'milk carry-away pipelines be made of stainless steel, and that they be completely, washed immediately after-each milking.disassembly sometimes being` required.- The pipe for "theselines is generally furnished in sections to 21 feet in length and adapted tobev clamped together in order that they,v may readily. be disassembled. Diliculty has been encountered with ordinary shutfotsvalves or stallcocks used in installations of this nature. Stainless steel. is'a diicult vmaterial to work, .and accordingly, ,it is yrather expensive to install conventional vacuum tight valves as they are neededy in such pipelines in the eld; as the kspacing of stalls may -vary considerably from barn to barn. Moreover, it is a troublesome and time consumingjob to disassemble, wash and reassemblea large Y number of conventional valves after each milking.

I have devised land am here disclosing and claiming a valve or stall cock which may readily be atlixed to a pipeline and which may readily be removed and disassembled for washing. My valve isvacuum vtight. or leakgproof, which improves the eiilciency of the vacuum system.' Furthermore, it will not blow apart during .in place power washing.

Inthe particular embodiment shown in Figure 1, a/plurality'of stalls are separated by the partitions 10, which are supported by the'fioor. 11, which is preferably-of concrete. A milk carry-away pipeline 12 extends above and: along the back of the row of stalls. It should be understood that only a segment of the pipeline 12 is shown 'in' the drawing, it' being part of av much larger milk collection system, closed at one end and connected to-a source of vacuum at the other. Furthermore, the pipeline has'been shown as a continuous element, although it will ordinarily be made up of a plurality of short sections clamped together. A plurality of shut-olf valves or stall cocks indicated generally at 13 are spaced along the pipeline, there being one stall cock shown for each-stall. The pipeline supplying the vacuum for operating the pulsator and inilations has not been shown inforder to clarify the drawings; but might, for example, be located a few inches above and parallell to the carry away .pipeline illustrated.

Referringnow to Figures 2, 3 and 4, the pipe 12 basa hole `14 in the `wall thereof, vthe center line of the hole preferably` being about 45 degrees below the horizontal diameter of the pipe. The stall cock 13 ismade up o i-a body 'member 15, va retaining member 16k and resilient clamping means indicated generally as 17. The body member 15 is generally arcuate in shape, substantially conformingto the. shape of the wallet the pipe 12, and has flange-like side walls 15a. One end 18 of the body memessayer ber 15 is bent outwardly therefrom 'and is provided with a'Y transverse slot 19; the other end forms a pintle bearing 20.

The retaining member 16 is adapted to encircle a portion of the wall of the pipe 12, the center section thereof being generally arcuate in shape, conforming to the Wall of the pipe. A ltongue 23 at one endtof the retaining member 16 projects into the transverse slot 19'and engages the end 18 of the body member 15. The other end of the retaining member 16 is provided with an open ended slot 24 which receives the shank of the bolt 25; the bolt being pivotally mounted on the pintle 26 carried by the pintle bearing 20. A wing nut 27 and coil spring 28 mounted on the bolt 25 complete the resilient clamping means 17. The tongue and slot engagement on one side of the pipe and the slot and bolt connection on the opposite side of the pipe serve to resiliently secure the body member 15 and retaining member 16 on the pipe 12. When in the closed position illustrated in Figure 2, the tongue and slot are approximately 180 removed from the opening 14 so as to permit the body member and retaining member to pivot relative to each other about the tongue and slot as a fulcrum as a result of pressure within the pipe 12.

A resilient gasket 30 carried by the body member 15 provides a seal between the body member and the wall of the pipe 12. The gasket is of a resilient material which resists deterioration, such as a synthetic rubber and is preferably bonded to the body member 15. A ow opening 31 in the wall of the body member 15 and a corresponding flow opening 32 in register therewith in the resilient gasket 30, communicate with the uid passage of connector nipple 33 which is secured to the body member 15 and extends therethrough into the ow opening 32 in the gasket. The connector nipple 33 is adapted to be connected to a exible hose 34 as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 3, this hose being connected to the outlet port -ofthe milk withdrawing apparatus (not shown). The milk withdrawing apparatus may be of any suitable type, see for example my copending application Serial No. 219,692, tiled April 6, 1.951, now Patent No. 2,706,965, issued April 26, 1955.

The entire stall cock assembly is adapted for circumferential movement about the pipe 12, whereby the ow openings 31 and 32 and the fluid passage of the connector nipple 33 may be moved into register with the hole 14 as shown in Figure 3 or the resilient gasket 30 may ciose the hole 14 as shown in Figure 2, to control the flow of fluid therethrough. A raised boss 35 on the wall of the pipe 12 substantially diainetrically opposite the hole 14 extends into a longitudinal slot 36 in the retaining member 16 limiting the movement of the s-tall cock assembly about the pipe 12 between the two positions described.

A guard member 40 is pivotally mounted on the body member 15 by a pin 41 carried in the bracket 42. The guard member 4t) extends over and covers the end of the connector nipple 33 to prevent insects and dirt from con- Vtaminating the system when the hose 34 is not connected to the nipple.

When the stall cock is not in use, it will be in the position shown in Figure 2, the vacuum in the pipeline 12 together with the resilient gasket 3G tightly sealing the hole 14. In order to make a connection to the carry-away milk line 12, the operator need only slip the end of the hose 34, which is connected to the outlet port of the milking apparatus, over the connector nipple 33 and rotate the stall cock assembly downwardly through the limited movement allowed until the tiow openings 31 and 32 in the body member 15 and gasket 30 respectively are aligned with the hole 14. Milk will then flow from the milking apparatus through the hose 34 and connector nipple 33 into the pipeline 14, where it joins the milk from other cows and flows under the iniiuence of the vacuum to a discharge point (not shown).

When the cow has been completely milked, the milking apparatus may be disconnected from the carry-away line with one movement, rotating the stall cock 13 upwardly through the limit of its movement to the posi-tion shown in Figure 2, and removing the hose 34 from the nipple 33. The guard member 40 now covers the end of the nipple 33 keeping it free from contamination until the operator has the neX-t cow ready to miik.

The stall cock 13 may readily be removed from the pipeline 12 for washing by merely loosening the wing nut 27 and disengaging the bolt 25 and coil spring 28 from the slot 24 in the retaining member 16. The entire stall cock assembly may then easily be lifted from the pipe 12. After the pipe and the stall cock have been washed, the stall cock may readily be replaced on the pipe by inserting the tongue 23 in the slot 19, placing the body member and retaining member on the pipe with the boss 35 extending into the slot 36, swinging the bolt 25 upwardly into the slot 24 and tightening the wing nut 27.

My stall cock is also particularly suited for use with a pipeline which may be washed in place. In a system of this type, ythe carry-away milk line is not disassembled after each milking; rather, hot water and a detergent are forcedthrough the milk line under a pressure of the order of fty pounds per square inch. After the line has been thoroughly washed, it is flushed with clear water. Ordinary stall cocks used in such systems must be individually washed. With my stall cock, which is resiliently Vclamped on the pipeline, the high pressure used during washing will cause the water-detergent mixture to leak out between the gasket 30 and the wall of the pipe 12,. washing away any milk which adheres to the gasket.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments' of my invention, it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a carry-away milk pipe line, a stall cock of the character described, comprising: a section of pipe line having an opening in the wall thereof; a valve member including a split band having an opening therethrough mounted on said pipe line for rotation between a rst position in which said opening communicates with the opening in the pipe line and a second position in which the opening in said pipe line is closed; and resilient means securing said split band on said pipe line, the split band having a fulcrum portion generally opposite said resilient means, said resilient means being positioned adjacent the opening in the pipe line when the valve member is in the second position, whereby washing solution circulating through the pipe line under pressure forces the portion of the band adjacent the pipe line opening away from the wall of the pipe line Washing the engaging faces of the band and pipe line adjacent the pipe line opening.

2. In a carry-away milk pipe line, a stall cock of the character described, comprising: a section of pipe line having an opening in the wall thereof; an arcuate body member having an opening therethrough; a retaining member having an end portion pivotally engaged with one end of said body member; and resilient clamping means connected to the other end lof said body member and the other end of said retaining member for securing said members on said pipe line for rotation between a rst position in which said openings are in communication and -a second position in which the opening in the pipe line is closed by said body member, said resilient clamping means being adjacent the pipe line opening when the body member is in the second position whereby washing solution circulating through the pipe line under pressure forces the body member away from the pipe line against the pressure of said resilient clamping means, the body member pivoting about said end of the retaining member.

3. A stall lcock of the character described in claim 2, wherein the opening in said pipe line is at an angle below the horizontal, and interengaging means on the pipe line and the split vband limit movement of the band between the first and second positions, the open-ing Iin the band being at an angle above the Ihorizontal when in the second position.

4. In a carry-away milk pipe line, a stall vcock of the character described, comprising: a section of pipe line mounted above the top `of a stall and having an opening |in the wall thereof at an angle below the horizontal; a valve member having a flow opening therethrough mounted on said pipe line section for rotation thereon; a nipple on said valve member for connection with a milk hose and communicating with said ow opening; `and means securing said valve member on said pipe line, permitting manual movement between a first position in which said flow opening communicates with the opening in said wall and a second position in which said opening is closed and said nipple extends upwardly atan angle above the horizontal, said securing means holding said valve member against movement from said second position due `to the weight `of sali'd milk hose.

References Cited in the le-of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 162,683 Nichols Apr. 27, 1875 895,143 Augensen Aug. 4, 1908 1,037,378 Ward Sept. 3, 1912 1,121,316 Williams Dec. 15, 1914 1,272,998 Rasmussen July 16, 1918 1,488,568 Thompson Apr. l, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,865 Great Britain of 1863 

